SweetLeaf Stevia Sweet Drops Review

You are probably wondering right now "Doesn't Leah eat Paleo?" and the answer is yes I do. So why am I doing a review about stevia? Well let's discuss this.

Is Stevia Paleo?

The answer is...it just depends. Some people think so and some people don't. In my opinion I would say that it just depends what kind of stevia. God put the stevia plant on the earth for a reason and it's probably because it actually has some medicinal purposes. 

So what kind of stevia could be considered Paleo?

Definitely not the kind in the powdered form unless it is 100% stevia and it is green like it is supposed to be. The liquid stevia could be considered Paleo as long as it doesn't have any bad ingredients in it. I have some whole leaf stevia that makes great tea!

Do I use stevia?

Yes I do. I have to say that I like it. I can't have honey which would probably be my go to sweetener if I could have it, but I am allergic. I actually use liquid stevia everyday.

Even though it is calorie free, if you ate several leaves then it wouldn't be. 1 teaspoon of crushed stevia leaves to eat actually has some carbs in it. The liquid from it though is like tea, it has none. They seep the leaves in water to make liquid stevia which is why I prefer it. Simple...like tea. That is what I use liquid stevia in. I plan to try making my own liquid stevia. I had actually made some stevia extract in a jar. I had it in there for several weeks, but my brother dropped it so now I have to start all over...

I love the plain SweetLeaf liquid stevia. I use it in my tea everyday. It has only 3 ingredients: Distilled Water, organic stevia leaf extract, and natural flavors. Sounds pretty great right. 

I was given the opportunity to try their SweetDrops. I was so excited. Especially because I really thought these would be great for my mom who just got off diet cokes (She is not really a true Paleo) and my brothers who love cokes! I thought these would be great for them so they can still get the coke flavor, but not the sugar. So if you miss your colas and fizz then these are perfect for you. I tested some of these these in regular water and in carbonated water. At first I was like "whoa!" because I haven't had anything carbonated in a long time. I only use these as the occasional treat so...Let's see how they did!

Berry:

Water: Couldn't really taste. 

Carbonated Water: Couldn't really taste.

There was not really any berry flavor. I couldn't even really taste anything, but a slight sweet taste despite how many drops I added.

Lemon Drop:

In both there was no flavor what so ever. It tasted like regular stevia honestly, no matter how many drops I added.

Valencia Orange:

This one tasted a lot like oranges. It made the carbonated water taste just like soda!

Cola:

Carbonated Water: Pretty good for a cola substitute. Had a more Dr. Pepper taste. Not exactly cola, but it was great. This one and the coconut have other ingredients, but they are safe ones too!

Coconut:

Great flavor and tastes very natural. I think this would be great to use in baking!

So which ones are my favorite?

#3 Coconut

#2 Cola

#1 Valencia Orange

The berry and lemon drop definitely have some room for improvement.

So would I recommend these?

If you crave soda or feel like you miss out when you are with your friends while they are sipping on soda, then yes! I think I will use these as the occasional treat or try to bake with them at least. I think my family would really enjoy these though! Hopefully I can come up with a recipe!

Here is an interview I read with the founder of SweetLeaf Stevia. http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2011/09/23/falling-from-a-sweet-sweet-summer-an-interview-with-jim-may-father-of-stevia/

By the way I was not paid to do this review. This is my personal opinion and experience.

If you would like to know if your stevia is a good brand feel free to ask me!

My Experience with the "No Poo" Method

Back in October I wrote about 3 Reasons Why I don't Shower Everyday. I had tested several of the diy shampoos that I had listed. (Except for the honey one, but I am allergic to honey.) None seemed to work. I did tons of research and I found out that I was not the only one. The baking soda and apple cider vinegar or as I am going to call BS & ACV was not ph balanced. This concerned me because my scalp had become dry, but my hair was oily. I thought it was the detox at first, but I had done this for a few weeks and it hadn't calmed down. (Thank goodness for dry shampoo!) I felt dirty and it seemed like it was getting worse. I finally gave in and had to wash my hair with something. I washed it with with some "organic" and supposedly "earth friendly" dish soap. I felt bad and I just had to figure it out. So after reading tons of comments on tons of recipes I decided I would explain what most people experienced in these recipes. These are the most common ingredients in "no poo" recipes.

Photo Credit: http://www.thetipz.net/tips-for-great-looking-hair/

Baking Soda:

This is the original "no poo". From my experience and others this drys your hair out and is off balance in ph. It has worked for some, but mostly none.

Apple Cider Vinegar:

Gets diluted with water. Used as a conditioner along with the BS usually. Is also used with other methods. Works great!

Castile Soap:

This one varies greatly. It left some people oily (possibly detox?) and some it worked great for. Some people would use it straight and some one dilute in water or coconut milk.

Coconut Milk:

This one was mixed greatly also. Most it seemed that the coconut milk versions made their hair
greasy. I think it may be due to the fat in coconut milk so it just coats your hair.

Vegetable Glycerin:

This most people like because it would actually clean your hair not to the point it was dry, but enough to not leave it greasy.

Aloe Vera:

Some people were left greasy and some were not. Moisturises and doesn't leave dry.

Honey:

Mixed results.

Most of these are mixed results due to everyone hair being different. This is why "no poo" is somewhat difficult because you usually have to adjust the recipe till it works and on top of that you have to detox which makes it hard to tell if it is working. I personally found one that will hopefully work for me. Like I said though what may work for me may not work for you. I am going to continually make updates on this to see how it goes.

I first tried this recipe. I made a smaller batch so I wouldn't waste any ingredients.

I did:

1 Tablespoon of Aloe Vera

1 Tablesoon of Vegetable Glycerin 

2 Tablespoons of water

A few drops of Lavender Essential Oil

I also did the ACV rinse as a conditioner.

I am currently on day 3 and my hair is not very oily. It is somewhat, but maybe due to small detox.

Don't feel icky which is great.

*UPDATE*

So far so good! It's about a month or more since I started this method. I only have to take a shower 2-3 times a week. I also us homemade dry shampoo if I have too.

Paleo Strawberry Crumb Bars (GF,CF,& LC)

So lately I have been having problems with my face breaking out or I keep getting scratches on my face. I changed from olive oil to coconut oil in my oil cleansing because of these lovely winter months. Well, that I believe clogged up my pores... Now I am using 3/4 part of olive oil and 1/4 part of castor oil. I seem to be doing better, but I still have scratches on my face. The first one on my forehead I am not so sure about, but the second well...

My brother was watching a YouTube video on my mother's computer because my mom took her iPad to work with her. He usually spends his whole day watching videos or playing video games as well as my other brother. As he was watching this video the computer froze and stayed that way for like a whole day till I hit the switch to turn it off because it was not doing anything. The monitor kept saying that it wasn't receiving any video to display. So I take the panel off the side of the computer and see if any wires were shorted and to clean the ram. Well...as I was getting the panel off I kinda had to fight with it. I hit myself in the face with it and I got a small cut like scratch on my upper lip. It didn't bruise thank goodness because it probably would have bruised my nose too. I am alive though! Haha! Sadly, though I couldn't fix it. I tried though. That may be why the pictures may not be straight or the writing looks different. Anyway after listening to my story of not very much pain, but many scratches...Let's get to the recipe!

Strawberry Crumb Bars

Crust:

2 cups of Almond Flour

1/4 cup of coconut oil

Sweetener to taste *See Note*

1/8 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a pan with parchment paper.* In a bowl mix together all crust ingredients. Press into bottom of pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden on top.

Strawberry center:

2 cups of strawberries frozen or fresh

1 cup of water or possibly more

Sweetener to taste

Coconut flour or thickener of choice

While crust is baking add strawberries and water to pot on medium heat. Wait till strawberries have cooked some and become soft. Take immersion blender and blend till it looks like tomato sauce. Add sweetener. I added little by little of coconut flour till it was thick enough. Don't let it be too thick, but just enough to coat your spoon and drip off slowly.

Topping: 

I don't have measurements for this because I did it kinda randomly so do it to your preference.

Pecans *See note*

Unsweetened Shredded Coconut

Almond flour

Coconut oil

Put in food processor and pulse till crumbly. Don't over pulse or you may end up with nut butter.

Final Assembly:

Pour strawberry sauce over crust and sprinkle crumb topping evenly. Bake for about 20 minutes or until nuts on top are toasted.

Enjoy!

My Favorite Paleo Camping Recipes

So recently I went camping. Yes...winter camping. We have a camper though...thank goodness... Obviously I had to track down some recipes for the trip. I wanted some that you usually had when you went camping. With Paleo there is sooo many recipes! Some people think we don't eat anything and yet I don't know why. We get the privilege of having food that is as good as the bad stuff, but it doesn't make you sick or feel guilty. So here is this great list!

                                            My Favorite Paleo Camping Recipes

                                                       Maria Mind Body Health's No Bake Energy Bars
                        I didn't do the chocolate topping on this, but it still tasted great! Remember to soak nuts overnight!

The Best Paleo Beef Jerky from Little Home Living

                                                   I love this recipe because you can flavor it how you like!

 

                                                         Salt and Vinegar Almonds by Shay Mitch Blog
                                                                    Anything...Salt...Vinegar...Yum!

                                                                      Marshmallows by Keto Diet App
                                              I didn't do the chocolate topping on these, but they were great!
                                                      These aren't campfire friendly, but they do melt!

                                                  Homemade Graham Crackers by All Day I Dream About Food
                                     I just did the normal paleo subs for these. I didn't have molasses so I managed.
                                                      I think these were my favorite out of all recipes!

 

Paleo Breakfast Hash by Paleo Grubs

These aren't ones I got to try, but I will in the future. Not all of these are paleo, but you can make the regular subs for them.

Paleo Coleslaw by My Natural Family

Hassle Back Sweet Potatoes by The Healthy Foodie

Campfire Onion Bombs by Rugged Thug Life

I thought these would be cool to try!

Cinnamon Bacon Backyard Sweet Potatoes by PaleOMG

Peanut Butter Breakfast Bars by The Low Carb Diet

These use peanut butter, but you could use another paleo friendly nut butter.
                                           

That's all! I hope you enjoyed this list! These aren't all the recipes I saw that would be great for camping, but maybe I will make a second list one day! (>-<)/

Here is my camping board on Pinterest!

What is your favorite recipe out of this list? What is your favorite thing about camping? Have you ever been camping in cold weather?

Let me know below!!

Update

I just wanted to say I am sorry I haven't posted in a while. I have been doing school work and I recently went camping. It has just been crazy busy for me. I hope to put together a yummy board of Paleo recipes for camping as soon as I can. I can't wait!

Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes (GF,DF,LC,Paleo friendly)

This is so yummy!

I have been meaning to post this,but I didn't have the time.So yummy though!

Adding just a sprinkle of salt to anything seems to make it better!

Anyway here it is!

I wish I could have got better photos,but it was hot and the icing or coconut cream was melting.It still tasted good though!

 

These kinda had a coffee flavor,but I think it's because I used Cacao.

Chocolate Cupcakes:
1/2 c. coconut flour
1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

Sweetener to taste
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c. unsweetened almond milk

1/2 c. coconut oil or butter
5 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp caramel extract

(Slight malfunction up above)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Combine all the dry ingredients and blend well. Add the dry and wet ingredients and blend until smooth. Grease and fill a cupcake tin 2/3rds full. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes or refrigerate them before frosting.

Topping:

Coconut Cream from one can of refrigerated can of full fat coconut milk or use enough for the cupcakes heavy whipping cream.(You can eat what's left!)

1/2 tsp caramel extract

Caramel sauce (I used one I had on hand)

Whip coconut cream till it has a whipped cream consistency.Add extract then refrigerate for about 30 minutes.Get cupcakes and frost how you would like.Melt the caramel sauce of choice and drizzle over tops.(How much you like!)Salt with how much you like.I used a rock salt grinder.

If you want to know about some of the ingredients then please go to the resources page above.^_^

Eat up!

Paleo Vanilla Blackberry Scones

Maybe it's just me,but I love these scones! I like vanilla though...which isn't a bad thing. I think they would have been better,but I bought some coconut milk today and it was frozen. So now I have watery and separated coconut milk that I yet to take back to the store. I was looking and comparing coconut milks. The canned kind is nice,but it is costly. I looked for ones without carrageenan and I found one. It is So Delicious. The brand ha ha. Here it is. I don't know about their other products. Compared to other brands this one is USDA organic too. They have coupons too! Anyway to these yummy delicious scones!

 

Paleo Vanilla Blackberry Scones   

• 2 cups almond flour
• 1 egg
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder *see note*
• 1/2 teaspoon liquid stevia drops or sweetener to taste
• 1/2teaspoon vanilla extract
• the seeds of 1/2 a vanilla bean
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon vinegar
• pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon of coconut milk
• 1/2 cup blackberries (can use frozen)

Preheat oven to 350F. Combine and mix dry ingredients in bowl. In seperate bowl combine and mix wet ingredients. Combine together. Make a thick circle shape about 1" thick. Cut into triangles. Arrange on baking sheet with parchment paper. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden. Let cool and enjoy!


*NOTE*
I used 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar and 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda. You can use homemade too. Here is a recipe for a homemade baking powder. Mine seemed thicker than 1" and I used vinegar. These are also sorta small.

DIY Beet Powder

Beets are great! Why? They are good for you! They have lots of vitamins and minerals and many uses. So what is beet powder and how do you use it?

What it is 

Beet powder is made from dried beets and is ground up to a fine powder. Mine isn't as fine,but it works.

How to use it

You can use it in smoothies or shakes for a nice boost. My favorite way to use it is as a natural dye.
Just add it straight or put it in your wet ingredients
and let it soak. Keep adding more to get the desired color. Just remember this is different from store bought dyes.

 DIY Beet Powder

 What you'll need:
Choose how many beets you want. I used scrap peelings from the outside.
A dehydrator or oven
jar or container to store it in

Instructions:
Slice your beets thin or make sure the peelings are thin enough. (Not all of mine were thin)
Spread them in a pan or in your dehydrator so that they are not in pile.
Follow the instruction with your dehydrator or use your oven on the lowest temp.
Check on them and when they are crunchy take
them out.*See note below*
Let cool then run through food processor till fine.
Put in jar or container and voila!


*Note*
Some of mine got crunchy before other pieces so I took them out and finished what was left.
Make sure that they completely crunchy and there is no moisture or it will mold in the jar.
Don't put in jar while hot or mold will set up from moisture.

I had just a tiny bit soaking to see how it is.

Name change and School Work

Due to lack of time,I can no longer cook as much as I did. School has been crazy. I crave school though! Haha! Anyways,I changed the name of the blog to Nourished Teen with a new look also...
I prefer now to write more about natural health. Along with recipes which I have some I need to do when I get time. So here comes the new!!

Blueberry Ice Cream Sandwiches (Gluten Free,Low Carb,Paleo,and GrainFree)

What goes great with summer?

ICE CREAM!!!

It seems as if everyone is in an ice cream craze.I can see why...it's hot.Lets just say I don't like the sun beating down on me.I still get in the mood for ice cream even though usually stay inside.I recently got an ice cream maker and I can't even figure it out!Everytime it just turns to slush!Maybe it's because it is coconut milk...I'm not sure.

I decided to make these and use whipped coconut cream instead of ice cream.I had some blueberries so I was like "How about blueberry ice cream sandwiches?".They turned out really good!It may be just because I wanted ice cream,but let's get to the yum!

I like blueberries...

Ingredients:

3 Large Eggs

1/4 cup of heavy cream or coconut cream

1/3 cup stevia or sweetener to taste

5 tablespoons of coconut flour

1/2 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries

Dash of vannila extract

About 1/8 cup - 1/4 cup of milk of choice (If your dough is too dry,I added some)

1 can of Coconut Cream

Or

1 can of coconut milk refrigerated overnight

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.In a large bowl,whisk together eggs,sweetener,vanilla,and cream until well mixed.Sift the coconut flour into the egg mixture and mix until smooth.(Optional,this just makes it easier to mix)Wait for a few minutes until thick.Add the blueberries and milk.Drop 1 tablespoon sized cookies onto cookie sheet.(You can make them bigger if you would like!)Flatten into cookies.Bake until golden with golden brown edges or until you think they are ready.It took mine about 20 minutes.Let cool enough to handle then transfer to fridge to get firm and cool.Follow instructions for filling below.

Sandwich 1 tablespoon of filling between 2 cookies.Put in freezer overnight or until you think they are ready to eat.

Coconut Cream Filling:

Take out coconut cream from can of coconut milk.(You may need more depending on how much you get)I used just canned coconut cream and I used the whole can because I use what is left over for another time.Use hand mixer or mixer and beat until fluffy and stiff peaks start to form.I stick mine in the fridge to firm up so it's easy to put on the cookies.

Gluten Free Low Carb Rolls & Dairy Free for a Few Days

I never realized how hard it would be...because I love cheese...
                  
                  
                  

So I decided to test how I would do dairy free for a few days since I am allergic to dairy,but I like to ignore it.I failed already today.I was making some donuts that have butter in them.Well,besides that I
am actually feeling pretty good right now.I am gonna do this for three days and see how I do.If I feel better though,am I gonna go back to eating dairy?! Come on!Maybe I should just dedicate like two or three days a week to have dairy.I probably won't...what do I do?I mean I know there are substitutes,but I love cream cheese.As in like cheesecakes and there is a cheesecake that I made in my fridge now.I want a slice,but just no.

Well,anyways....I decided to post the recipe for the rolls I promised!I made them today with shortening instead of butter.Why didn't I use coconut oil?I was out at the time and well I couldn't use butter.These are kinda sweet,but I like to make mini sandwiches out of them.First time I had a sandwich with one of these I was like "Its been so long!". I just like the how they are sorta sweet;I think those make the best sandwiches.You can just have them as dinner rolls or you can make mini sandwiches.These would be great with soup!They are also full of fiber.I did do a tablespoon of sugar to make the yeast do it's thing because last time it didn't rise to much at all.You have to make about to batches of my Gluten Free Flour Mix.Yum...

Ready for the Oven!

Gluten Free Low Carb Rolls or Buns for Mini Sandwiches >_< 

   

                                                          Bake Me!

Ingredients

2 1/4 teaspoon or 1 packet of active dry yeast
1/4 cup of lukewarm water
1 tablespoon of sugar preferably raw
1 cup warm almond milk,coconut milk,or a blend of both
3 tablespoons of melted butter or coconut oil,slightly cooled
1/8 cup of stevia or sweetener to taste
1 cup of My Gluten Free Flour Mix + 3 more cups
Just one egg (That's a first!)
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 tsp baking powder

Instructions

Put yeast,sugar,and warm water in mixer bowl,stir.Let sit for about 10 minutes or until really foamy.

Once yeast is ready add warm milk,melted fat,and sweetener.Stir with paddle attachment.Put the paddle attachment on mixer and add in 1 cup of the flour mix.Mix on medium and scrape the sides of the bowl.It should be a pancake batter consistency.Add in the egg,salt,and baking powder.Mix some more on medium until combined.Add the flour mix 1 cup at a time on mixing on medium and scraping the sides of the bowl.You should end up with a nice dough.Lay some parchment or plastic wrap on the counter and oil it so the dough does stick.Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes.In the meantime,wash the same bowl or get a new one and oil the bowl.After the 10 minutes are up,place dough in the bowl and cover with towel.Place in the oven or microwave and let rest for 1 hour.Have a surface oiled.Once hour is up get the dough out of the bowl and put on surface.Pound and knead some.Flatten out some and place plastic wrap over and roll out to a square that is 1/2 an inch thick.Look for a size enough to make 18 rolls.Cut out rolls in desired shape.(I made mine kinda square)Place parchment on cookie sheet and place rolls onto sheet.Cover with towel and place in the oven.(Unless you have a big microwave...)Let rise for another hour.Once hour is up,take out and uncover.Preheat oven to 350 degrees?Once oven is ready,put in oven.Let bake 15-18 minutes or until golden on the bottom.(It's hard to tell on top)Then take out and baste with butter or oil then,enjoy!

                                    

Gluten Free Low Carb Flour Mix

So far I am testing my own gluten free flour mix.It also happens to be low carb friendly.I have only tried it in one recipe as of now.I was surprised it actually worked!(I will post the recipe soon!) It is fit to my needs with my allergies.If it works well in lots of recipes then I will be able to consider it all-purpose.I hope it works well in more recipes to come,but here is what is in it and about it.

If you would like to know what these go to the resources section here.

Almond Flour

The almond flour is the main ingredient in this mix.I use the almond flour because it is great for you and it's moist and if you treat it right it makes some great baked goods.

Coconut Flour

The coconut flour tones the almond flour down.It adds some fluff,but keeps the almond flour from being to moist to the point it just crumbles.The almond flour is coconut flour's best friend.The almond flour keeps it from being to dry and the coconut flour keeps the almond flour from being to moist.Perfect!

Ground Flax Meal

You can use golden or brown flax.I use brown.Just make sure you grind up enough whole ones yourself or buy it already ground.This adds some fiber to this flour mix,so this may help you if you have problems.(Haha!It did I my mom!)

Mung Bean Starch

This one is the most odd ingredient.They use mung bean starch in Korean cooking.They use it to make a kinda gel like pasta stuff.It's jello basically.You just can't use too much.My mom tried to make a gravy with it and well jelly gravy...I thought if I would use a little it would hold the goods together.

Xanthan Gum

If you bake gluten free you probably have heard of this one.It is a binder.I love it! It makes
everything come together,even sauces.Xanthan gum helps to keep the goods from being to crumbly.

Now to the mix!

Gluten Free Low Carb Paleo Flour Mix

It would be best to use a kitchen scale in this so it is precise!

Tools:

Digital Kitchen Scale
Bowl to mix or mix in container

Container to store flour in

Ingredients:

140 grams Almond Flour

70 grams Coconut Flour

70 grams Ground Flax Golden or Brown

10 grams Mung Bean Starch

10 grams Xanthan Gum

Directions:

Measure out one ingredient at a time on scale and add to bowl or container to mix.Mix thoroughly
then store in container.I store mine in the freezer and this makes somewhere around 2 cups.

For the recipe I put in 9 servings,so this is what it gave me.Here is the nutrition facts for 33 grams worth: